Philokalia Ministries
Episodes
Thursday Jul 13, 2017
Thursday Jul 13, 2017
Last night we picked up with Homily 13 which focused on initial effects of Stillness on the soul. For a brief period of time she is deprived of spiritual comfort as she begins to walk more and more in the darkness of faith and as God continues His work of purification. St. Isaac warns that the pursuit of Stillness must be something one sets oneself to cultivating for the rest of one's life. This is no avocation but something to which one commits the rest of their days.
Patience is needed so as not to fall into despondency and discouragement. One must persevere in prayer and look to the Fathers for direction and nourishment.
In Homily 14, St. Isaac tells us that the sign and fruit of true stillness is tears. The more one enters into the reality of the Kingdom and intimacy with God the more they pass into an inexpressible beauty and as baby born into this world weeps so does one who enters the stillness of God shed copious tears for years on end. Only then does a soul pass into peace of thought and the Holy Spirit begins to reveal heavenly things to her.
We began Homily 15 by discussing how one in the world and surrounded by its noise could cultivate this stillness. One must come to realize that the desert is not a geographical region but rather the heart. It is there that we must foster constant stillness and remove those things from our lives that inhibit its growth.
Thursday Jul 06, 2017
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Eleven and Homily Twelve
Thursday Jul 06, 2017
Thursday Jul 06, 2017
Last night we discussed Homilies 11 and 12. Here St. Isaac holds up the monastic life as an exemplar which we are to emulate - monks illuminate the darkness of the world with the beauty of their virtue and in them we are to find refuge. Though not monks, we are called to an interiorized monasticism - to live as those who know how fleeting is life and how valuable is virtue. Isaac lays before us lists of their virtues by which we can gauge our deficiency or progress. It is by our virtue that we give glory to God.
In Homily 12, Isaac discusses the various stages of the spiritual life. Daily we are to strive to walk the narrow path and to overcome the passions. We are to live in the hope that Christ alone provides; and even when we do not receive consolation or feel strong desire we are not to abandon that hope in God's mercy and grace.